Kicesie: A Social Phenomenon That the Media Have Yet to Discover -- Not Even Oprah

Gary North

Sept. 16, 2010

I have waited 45 years to be the first journalist/commentator to discover a new social phenomenon. I have finally done it. Like most such discoveries, mine was a fluke.

Before I present my findings, let me review. Google is a world-transforming social phenomenon. So its subdivision, YouTube. One thing that makes YouTube unique in social history is the fact that it reveals the number of views a video has had.

This numerical indicator has not been widely put to use by social commentators. So, I shall offer my back-of-the-envelope assessment. If a video gets 10 million hits, it is worth investigating. If it gets 50 million hits, it is a phenomenon. But it may be what in the entertainment industry is called a one-trick pony.

If it gets 90 million hits, and has back-up videos that get millions of hits, it is a social phenomenon. Something fundamental is going on. The challenge is to figure out what . . . and then prove it.

I have found such a phenomenon. No major media outlet has. I am hereby staking my claim. (Too bad I cannot monetize it. But I wouldn't even if I could.)

THE FLUKE

I am a big Tony Furtado fan. He was twice named the bluegrass banjo player of the year. Then he switched to blues guitar. I think he's the best slide guitar player around.

My eyes spotted something. Along the right-hand side of a YouTube screen are more YouTube clips. They were all guitarists' clips, as far as I could see. But one caught my eye.

My wife was behind me. She had come up to see why I was making odd noises while watching a video. I had my earphones on. I was listening to Furtado.

I had her put on the phones. Then I pointed to the YouTube image: 89 million views.

I was listening to a spectacular Furtado clip. It had under 18,000 views. But here was "Best Ever!!!" It had almost 90 million.

I had never before stumbled across a YouTube video with over 10 million. I found the South Korean guitar kid who played Pachelbel's Canon when it had about a million. That was on March 17, 2006. It is now around 79 million.

Why YouTube posted it in a guitar section, I do not know. It is not there today.

89 MILLION VIEWS

I could hardly believe it. How does some girl's video get 89 million views? Anyone can make a YouTube video on any topic. Why this girl? There is nothing unique about her. On this topic? It's all over the Web. There is nothing unique or compelling about her or her topic.

This seems impossible. Some 20-something with a camcorder has dwarfed the queen of the media.

I searched Google for her name: Kicesie. Here is what I found: a quarter million links, but no feature stories in the major media. Her full name is Kicesie Drew.

What is going on here?

Google and YouTube numbers this high cannot be manipulated consistently. Google finds out if any manipulation is going on. The system cuts it short.

Oprah's non-channel audience on YouTube is about 17% of Kicesie's. This has come about by word-of-mouse. This is a grass-roots phenomenon. It is huge. "Huge" barely begins to describe it.

It means that this woman is regarded by her peers -- millions of them -- as a guide on sexual matters. This issue is at the heart of every society. How does it happen that some girl with a camcorder has become the spokeswoman for a generation? That is what her YouTube numbers mean.

How does it happen that the media -- gatekeepers of all persuasions -- have not spotted her?

This has not been orchestrated. People with similar views have sought out this girl's opinions. She is not articulate. She puts on no airs. But she speaks for millions of people. Yet, because of the decentralized nature of the network, no major media have noticed.

My views on sex and civilization are close to those of J. D. Unwin's Sex and Culture (Oxford University Press, 1934). (Click the title for a free download.) I do not regard Kicesie's views as positive. But I do take these views seriously.

When someone gets 225 million YouTube downloads, we can safely say that her views have permeated her social group. This group constitutes the future of the United States.

I will say this much. Oprah ought to have this girl on her show. It's not often that anyone can go on the show who has dwarfed her in her own two fields: women's opinions and video media. I don't think Kicesie needs any more publicity, but at this point, she can do more for Oprah's ratings than Oprah can do for hers.